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Both types' fanciers need however to face the common enemy. If we do not unite against the animal rights movement we will fall, separately or together.

 

I agree that we need to face common enemies and oppose common enemies. I don't agree that we need to "unite" against common enemies. If the AKC had known about this county initiative, no doubt they would have weighed in with their views. Likewise, if the ABCA had known about this county initiative, no doubt they would have weighed in with their views. I don't see any reason why the two organizations should unite to present their views. Seems to me that would probably be less effective rather than more.

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I agree with Eileen, above.

Protest from two separate registries would have more impact.

(and.....I'm not uniting with the ACK over anything, myself)

 

I have also had the purebred status of my BCs questioned, of course, although interestingly no one at a Freestyle event ever questioned Jester's lineage.

 

But people can be pretty weird about dogs, right? Like the guy I met who had a huge dog, maybe 60 pounds, looked like a pit mixed with some kind of hunting or hound dog, who declared he was a "purebred Giant Jack Russel terrier". I should have kept my mouth shut, of course. But I muttered something about there being no such thing, and he almost hit me while yelling "I know dogs!!! I know a lot about dogs!! And that is what this dog is! He's a purebred Giant Jack Russel!"

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I'm waiting for someone to tell me Jan is a Panda German Shepherd. Seriously though, my non dog owning next door neighbor (on my favorite side) just looked at her and said, "That's a nice looking dog".

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I'm coming in quite late to this discussion, but back on the first page, there was a statement (which I can't seem to copy....grrr!), that the original intent was to (I'm paraphrasing) encourage responsible breeding and cut down on the dogs turned into shelters.

 

Excuse me! Who thinks that responsible breeding will cut down on shelter-relinquishments, stray dogs picked up by AC, or backyard breeders ignoring the law and getting away with it? (I know - nobody here, but someone "in power" must....)

Sure there are purebred dogs turned in, found as strays, etc. But they are not the majority of dogs in shelters. The responsible breeder, of course, will take the dog back anytime during it's lifetime; but even so, not everyone would return to the breeder.

 

Anyway, onward with the ACK discussion....I gotta go feed my two rescued border collies.

 

diane

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NAIA did a study a couple of year ago. Using the shelters' criteria for breed, something like 10 percent of inhabitants were 'purebred'.

Our Kuvasz boy is normally accused of being a 'labradoodle' even more than a Great Pyrenees, times have changed. Poodle (!) and "White Golden Retriever" also appear. Don't even ASK about the two Border girls - one ABC and one From A Good Neighborhood, both from Phoenix Rising Rescue.

Instead of bashing registries, why not put the same effort into making your County Commissioner aware of the pitfalls of restrictive laws?

 

--johnny

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About 60% of the dogs in our shelters are pit bulls or pit bull mixes. If they could get a handle on that problem the shelters wouldn't be so overburdened.

 

We still have a big problem with the puppy mills here. A lot of their cast offs end up over burdening the rescue groups.

 

I just read an article yesterday about the dog sales at flea markets. Now that the laws for puppy mills are getting stricter more and more of the puppy mill dogs are being sold at flea markets. The rules don't apply there.

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Instead of bashing registries, why not put the same effort into making your County Commissioner aware of the pitfalls of restrictive laws?

 

--johnny

I find I can spread my efforts on behalf of border collies wider than a single issue. For example, I can oppose misguided legislation, support health research, and still try to make people aware of the pitfalls of various registries.
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About 60% of the dogs in our shelters are pit bulls or pit bull mixes. If they could get a handle on that problem the shelters wouldn't be so overburdened.

 

We still have a big problem with the puppy mills here. A lot of their cast offs end up over burdening the rescue groups.

 

I just read an article yesterday about the dog sales at flea markets. Now that the laws for puppy mills are getting stricter more and more of the puppy mill dogs are being sold at flea markets. The rules don't apply there.

 

It is exactly the same here. Walk through any shelter, any day, and over half of the dogs are pit-type dogs. Another large percentage here is chihuahua-types. There are usually very few purebreds.

 

The city I live near passed a law only a few years ago that puppies cannot be sold on the street. But I don't know if the county did or not. I used to feel feel physically sick every time I would drive by someone standing out in the sun holding up a puppy high in the air with one hand and with a box of them at his feet, no shade, no water. I rarely see that now,

so perhaps the county passed a similar law, but of course they simply sell the puppies online instead.

 

Backyard breeders who are only doing it to make money are the real problem, of course.

People who view puppies as a marketable product and nothing more are going to find a way around any law that is passed. I approve of the laws, don't misunderstand. But these problems will persist until human consciousness changes in its attitude toward animals.

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They can make too much money. As long as people can make hundreds of dollars the sale of puppies will go on.

 

The pet store here in KC that sells puppies gets up to $5,000. People are stupid enough to pay those prices.

 

Even worse, they have a program now where people can rent dogs. I guess the rental fee goes toward the thousands of dollars purchase price.

 

It's awful. I am like you. It just makes me sick to my stomach.

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With all the bully-types in shelters, and the bad rap they get by the public, shelters have come up with some pretty interesting "breed combinations" or crosses to call them. My favorite is one dog called something like a Siberian Husky crossed with the Belgian Malinois. It's the black-masked fawn that a Malinois often is, and so are many pits. It has a short, slick coat (the shelter said it had been shaved to get rid of the heavy husky coat but it's never grown anything but a short, slick coat since). Right. It's 100% pit if you ask me (50% at a minimum) but people will believe what they want to believe, and the shelters are desperate to rehome the dogs.

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I had a customer with a mostly pit but the shelter told she was a pharoh hound cross. They knew this because her ears turned red sometimes. I guess pharoh hound ears turn red sometimes.

 

I never said a word. She was a nice dog and that is all I care about.

 

I know of exactly one breeder of pharoh hounds in our area and she is in Leavenworth and I am sure her show dogs aren't out running around loose.

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They do the same, I think, in most shelters.

I'm generally not fond of deception in any form. But on the other hand, if it gets some nice dogs adopted, when otherwise they would not be, that's all to the good.

Plus, if it says "pharoh hound cross" on the adoption papers instead of pit bull, those adopters can live in places where anti-pit laws have been passed.

 

Sometimes a little clever deception is OK.

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They do the same, I think, in most shelters.

I'm generally not fond of deception in any form. But on the other hand, if it gets some nice dogs adopted, when otherwise they would not be, that's all to the good.

Plus, if it says "pharoh hound cross" on the adoption papers instead of pit bull, those adopters can live in places where anti-pit laws have been passed.

 

Sometimes a little clever deception is OK.

 

Eeeh, I respectfully disagree. People deserve to know what they are getting or getting into. Imagine someone adopting out a purebred Border Collie or Aussie stating it was a cocker mix. The dog the adopters get is going to not be the dog they wanted.

 

Plus, it adds into the "so many purebreds in shelters!" myth.

 

Let's be honest, evaluate dogs for what they are, give adopters informed choices, not adopt out questionable dogs and if our shelters empty out, whooo hoo! Instead (in this area) they import dogs from other states (which is ok, I think, so long as they are good temperaments and healthy) and countries....Jindos from the meat markets in Asia, pittie types who underwent months of "rehab" then go to an inexperienced family with young kids, etc. Ugh, no.

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I agree with rushdoggie. The objective of a good shelter is not only to get dogs into homes. It is to get them into homes that will not turn around and dump them. The better informed an adopter is, the better equipped they are to deal with the dog's transition from shelter-dog to companion. I would rather a shelter simply call them what they are--mixed breeds--and inform the adopter honestly that they may be mixed with X breed or type based on X breed characteristics. Ethical breeders of purebred dogs don't lie about their breed to get pups sold, and that is in the best interest of the pup. The conditions aren't exactly the same with shelter dogs--of course we want to avoid euthanasia--but you can promote adoption without intentionally deceiving the potential adopter.

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I also agree with Rushdoggie. I don't like people trying to sell me a bill of goods, and I don't think it's something many appreciate.

 

And I think in this case it's more (or can be more) than benign deception to attempt to get dogs adopted. Different breeds have different temperaments and health problems that adopters should be aware of and prepared for. Nothing's guaranteed of course and the unexpected can happen with any breed or mix, but sugar coating a dog's genetic mix can lead to people's not being prepared for the dogs they adopt. Being honest about what shelters and rescues know and don't know about the dogs in their care is always preferable, IMO.

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All three of you have a very good point and you are right.

I was being short-sighted in my reply, and had not really thought it over. Especially in terms of the home knowing what they are getting into with a particular breed and how important accuracy is in that.

 

Thanks for setting me straight. :)

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I honestly think that in 98% of cases shelters would do well to stop trying to even guess at a dog's breed-mix. Once in a while, when it's known, fine - but otherwise it's just often a really hard thing to guess, physical appearances in mixes can change a lot and when you have dogs from who knows where/what kind of background/what they're being bred for even behavior becomes questionable.

 

Describe the dog as you see it and let people make their own decisions. Make a guess as to final size maybe, if dealing with puppies, but so, so often those shelter labels are either a-) dead wrong or b-) may as well be (that black and white border collie looking dog might BE a border collie but if it's a couch potato and the perspective owner is looking for a jogging partner, there's still a problem).

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I did 2 one year stints as a volunteer at a county (kill) shelter in the deep south. Although this shelter is located at the edge of a "city" with a population of 100,000, it serves a very large rural land area.

 

Naturally, the shelter is inundated with pit bulls /mixes. I visited last weekend and there were gorgeous, apparently purebred APBTs. When I was a volunteer, I thought that it was fascinating that the locals distinguished between "bulldogs" and "pit bulls". If the cage card said "bull dog" the dog would be adopted, if the cage card said "pit bull" the dog would be passed over. I would be asked if the "bull dog" had any "pit bull" in it. It is the same freaking dog.

 

I don't know if things changed, but the animal control officer that brought the dog into the shelter listed the breed. Some ACOs were more breed savvy than others and some really knew how to play the system so the dog had a better chance of being adopted. The whole thing was a crap shoot.

 

I had once asked the head of animal services why a breed even had to be listed on the cage card and he said that people liked labels. He was a real asshole and was one of the reasons why I stopped volunteering.

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